End of an Era

It seems that with each passing month, another magazine mainstay - an industry Goliath (or so I thought), is dead. And so it is with Metropolitan Home, which announced today that December will be the last issue of this fabulous magazine. Known for its cool and contemporary sophistication, Met Home is something that I loved to read, looked to for inspiration, and constantly combed for resources. And for me, it was a magazine I admired not just for their distinctive spread and featured homes, but also for embracing the green movement and putting it at the forefront of 'great' design. Here are just a few of the many wonderful articles they published featuring eco-friendly homes and products.

Eco Logical is the perfect title for this amazing Colorado home, designed by local architect Jim Logan for a Manhattan couple moving from the big city to the nature filled suburbs of Boulder.

This eco-friendly home features tons of environmentally friendly aspects like solar panels, Kitchen cabinetry from locally sourced woods and saw mills, and this super funky drain spout that looks more like an outdoor water sculpture than a gutter! (and p.s. I love the hallway lined with dark wood shelves, accentuated by the large, bright and bold art at the end of the hallway).

And helping readers decipher the mass of green products, Met Home wrote about the Green Market: How Green Is It? Featuring products from major home furnishings companies like Crate and Barrel , Ikea, and ABCHome (check out the very cool Zulu Mama chair made from recycled plastic in South Africa). to specialty environmentally friendly companies like Vivavi, Maria Yee, Copeland Furniture, and of course, two of my favorites, Q Collection and Ianone [all listed respectively starting with ABC Home)].

'Going Green Made Easy' was the focus of the April 2009 issue, with everything from products, to construction, to renovations and fabulously 'green' homes like the one below. After suffering from a terrible fire, the home owners of this Dallas home decided to 'Rebuild for the Eco-Future', creating this fantastic, bright and eclectic eco-home.

In the same issue, Met Home featured this "Greenest Little House in America," an adorable 1915 Craftsman style home from Oakland, CA that just so happens to have the highest level of LEED for Homes rating - Platinum.

And the list of articles and featured green products goes on - so check out their website... I'm not sure if it will all stay up or disappear as it is folded into Elle Decor. Here's a great list of green related articles.